Butler Alumni Recruiting Corps
Get involved with the Butler Alumni Recruiting Corps (BARC)
Are you a Butler alum interested in helping recruit the next class of Bulldogs? If so, we would love for you to join the Butler Alumni Recruiting Corps (BARC), a partnership between the Office of Admission and the Butler Alumni Association. The members of BARC are passionate about engaging with prospective Butler students and assisting with a variety of recruitment initiatives each year. Most opportunities are specific to a certain time of year and BARC members are able to volunteer for as many different initiatives as they are interested in.
Please view the list of current opportunities below, and then fill out our interest form to tell us how you’d like to get involved. A member of our team will then be in touch to answer any additional questions you might have. Thank you for your interest in BARC!
The notecard campaign provides the opportunity for alumni to connect with prospective students via the written word. Admission staff will carefully connect alumni to students with whom they have something in common with to help forge a connection and build community between Butler and the prospective student. Volunteers can expect the following:
- BARC members are assigned 10-12 accepted seniors from their hometown, current location, or Butler major to write a handwritten letter about their Butler experience
- All materials—prompts, envelopes, Butler branded notecards, stamps, etc., are provided in the mailed packet
- December: organization begins, BARC members are contacted to confirm participation
- January: notecard packets sent in the mail to members
- February: deadline to send notecards to prospective seniors
College fairs at local high schools or community organizations are often the first time that a student may hear about Butler. It’s a critical opportunity for alumni to engage with these prospectives students to help answer questions and to share your own Butler experience. Volunteers can expect the following:
- BARC members can represent Butler and interact with prospective students at local college fairs. This includes talking with students and parents about the University, answering questions, and gathering contact information
- Materials including a table blanket, travel materials, business cards, Butler facts and FAQ sheets, and a fair evaluation, will be mailed to BARC members prior to the fair
- College fairs are typically two hours in the evening. We ask that you arrive 45 minutes prior to the start of the event to allow for set-up and to prepare
- Most coverage will be needed in September/October, with some potential assistance needed throughout the spring
- Business casual attire is recommended
Also known as Admitted Student Receptions, these regional gatherings occur in the winter and spring and are focused on building connections with accepted seniors, answering questions about next steps, and facilitating interactions between prospective students, Butler staff, alumni, and more. Volunteers can expect the following:
- The receptions typically last two hours and include mingling with students and families, and serving on an alumni panel to share your personal Butler experience
- We host five to seven receptions each year
- Business casual attire is recommended
On-campus events are a great opportunity to come back to campus and get to know prospective students. Volunteers will mingle with students and parents, answer questions and talk about their own Butler experiece, and potentially serving on an alumni panel.
- Because these events take place on campus, it is targed more towards Indianapolis-based alumni and parents, but anyone who would like to travel to campus is welcome
- These events typically last anywhere from two to four hours
- Can take place at any time of the year, with an emphasis on Butler Blue Scholars’ Day, which takes place in February
- Business professional attire is recommended
There are a variety of initiatives and opportunities for those alumni who are interested in supporting prospective multicultural students. Current opportunities include:
- Butler Blue Scholars’: Alumni are invited to help interview prospective students who are interviewing for a variety of scholarships. One particular scholarship, the Morton-Finney Diversity Scholar Award, is awarded to students who have taken a leadership role promoting diversity and inclusion in their schools or communities
- Notecard Campaign: Similar to the general notecard campaign listed above, current students and alumni can connect with prospective multicultural students through a handwritten letter about their Butler experience
- Morton-Finney Alumni Highlights: As we work to enrich the Morton-Finney experience, we are seeking Morton-Finney alumni willing to share their experiences
Volunteers interested in communicating with parents of prospective students can sign up for this opportunity, which includes making phone calls to 10-15 parents of accepted seniors to check-in on the decision making process.
- Receive student information and parent contact information via email
- Make phone calls in the spring with the goal of providing an additional touchpoint as we get closer to the May 1 decision deadline
- Volunteers will be asked to fill out a brief survey summarizing each phone call